Hoe Park — Attraction in Plymouth

Beautiful, serene and a very lush open space that I plan to visit during the summer months when it can be enjoyed more. The monument to those who served in ww1 & ww2 is amazing and brings to the forefront, when you see the vast lists of names, the sheer volume of soldiers that lost their lives fighting for the country. I was very impressed with the statues to commemorate fallen service persons from land, sea and air forces. The opportunity for amazing views is there, just maybe not best during the winter months. Only thing I didn't like was the monument praising Francis Drake, simply because I don't feel it's right to commemorate someone famous for being a thieving pirate. What the history books didn't tell me at school, I found out for myself.. and upon delving further I discovered he was also a slave trader, an aspect of Britain's 'empire' that is quite vehemently swept under the carpet, again another aspect they didn't teach at school. So ok, he circumnavigated the globe... Which as far as I'm concerned is something worth mentioning, not commemorating. May as well have a monument to Blackbeard the pirate next to him. Overall, a really good park and place of interest, great for a picnic, to walk the dog or just to have...

A beautiful and expansive public space with wonderful views, from a belvedere, of ships in Plymouth Sound and a coastline stretching from Devon in the east to Cornwall in the west. I reached it by walking up the hill from the Mayflower Steps Memorial in the Barbican (it takes about 10 minutes), and then climbing some steps beside the Victorian colonnade. You can climb to the top of the lighthouse - it's £5 for an adult, £2.50 for a child - for even better views. There's a bronze statue of Sir Francis Drake looking out to sea, and several commemorative plaques and memorials, the most impressive being the Plymouth Naval Memorial dedicated to around 23,000 British and Commonwealth sailors who were lost at sea during WW1 and WW2. There's also a pretty sensory garden and, very appropriately for this location, a bowling club! Plenty of seating, and lots of grassy space for exercise and picnics. There's also a little café, and toilets, at the back of the park. It's worth spending some time here before going off to...

Sat here for two hours, socially distanced, from a great friend that I hadn't seen for several months. Quite an emotional meeting. There's lots of space up here, little chance of not spacing out. The sun wasn't beaming down on us but Jo had got a little picnic from the co-op and we munched sarnies, flapjacks and fruit and drank those iced coffee drinks whilst the coastal breezes buffered us. The view was spectacular and there was obviously something going on with massive helicopters buzzing in and out. Was lovely and clean. One of the few places where they've actually been emptying the bins over lockdown I think. Beware of the gulls, we saw them stealing food from two girls on the grass (they thought it hilarious mind....steal my food and you probably won't survive! ;-)) But we will definitely go back here. Lovely area of Plymouth with a nice atmosphere but beware! I forgot to put suncream on (although I made the lad do so), two days later I was peeling my skin off my forehead. Not...